Counties with the most tornadoes in South Carolina

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in South Carolina that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in South Carolina.

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#45. Williamsburg County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.54 per 100 square miles)
- #1,963 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Jasper County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.76 per 100 square miles)
- #1,893 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#43. Chesterfield County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.00 per 100 square miles)
- #1,774 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Lancaster County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.09 per 100 square miles)
- #1,727 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. York County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.18 per 100 square miles)
- #1,660 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Chester County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.21 per 100 square miles)
- #1,642 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#39. Florence County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.25 per 100 square miles)
- #1,591 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Marlboro County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.25 per 100 square miles)
- #1,590 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Cherokee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.27 per 100 square miles)
- #1,567 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Greenwood County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.32 per 100 square miles)
- #1,542 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#35. Spartanburg County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.36 per 100 square miles)
- #1,512 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#34. Kershaw County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.38 per 100 square miles)
- #1,500 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. Lee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.46 per 100 square miles)
- #1,440 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Georgetown County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.60 per 100 square miles)
- #1,357 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Colleton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (1.70 per 100 square miles)
- #1,278 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Union County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.75 per 100 square miles)
- #1,246 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#29. Saluda County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.77 per 100 square miles)
- #1,236 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Hampton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.96 per 100 square miles)
- #1,089 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Berkeley County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.00 per 100 square miles)
- #1,057 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Greenville County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.04 per 100 square miles)
- #1,031 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Darlington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.14 per 100 square miles)
- #962 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#24. Barnwell County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.19 per 100 square miles)
- #937 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Edgefield County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.20 per 100 square miles)
- #934 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Dillon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.22 per 100 square miles)
- #910 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. McCormick County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.23 per 100 square miles)
- #905 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. Oconee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.24 per 100 square miles)
- #899 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Aiken County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (2.24 per 100 square miles)
- #898 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#18. Sumter County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.26 per 100 square miles)
- #883 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#17. Dorchester County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #873 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Horry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (2.29 per 100 square miles)
- #859 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#15. Richland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.38 per 100 square miles)
- #806 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Laurens County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.38 per 100 square miles)
- #801 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#13. Clarendon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.47 per 100 square miles)
- #740 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Fairfield County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.48 per 100 square miles)
- #736 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. Beaufort County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.60 per 100 square miles)
- #680 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#10. Abbeville County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.65 per 100 square miles)
- #651 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#9. Orangeburg County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (2.89 per 100 square miles)
- #548 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#8. Newberry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 20 (3.17 per 100 square miles)
- #429 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Anderson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.21 per 100 square miles)
- #408 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Charleston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (3.38 per 100 square miles)
- #355 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Lexington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.43 per 100 square miles)
- #343 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#4. Pickens County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.83 per 100 square miles)
- #261 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Allendale County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.92 per 100 square miles)
- #242 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#2. Bamberg County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (4.32 per 100 square miles)
- #180 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#1. Calhoun County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (4.72 per 100 square miles)
- #127 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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